Its been asked a million times, GF1 or E-P2!?

Thinking of making the plunge, currently own a Canon 400D using an EF 50mm II f/1.8 (Rebel XSi for you US guys) and I want something smaller.

So after much research I had decided to go for an E-P2, but then I checked out the GF1 and am in a bit of a pickle.

The GF1:

Pros:

Better pancake kit lens, love high aperture!
Higher res screen.
I like the simple controls and the dial.
The simple look seems as if it would age better than the PENs.
Flash I guess, though with f/1.7 who needs it?

Cons:

EVF! from what I hear its not all that useful for manual focus, I'm not a big MF guy really though, but if I did find some cheap FD lenses I would be.
Auto image rotation not supported unless an IS lens is used... this is not a biggie but it certainly is annoying.
No auto white balance in manual mode? (can someone confirm?)

E-P2

Pros:

Cool design.
In body IS.
Great EVF.

Cons:

Low res screen.
Pancake lens aperture.. (I'm used to the flexibility of f/1.8 with my canon)
Control interface, 2 dials seems like it could be annoying shooting in manual all the time.
Slower auto focus.

Now I am aware before any of you say, that I can use either pancake lens on either camera, but really a bundled pancake is the more economical choice.

I think possibly the biggest thing holding me back is the EVF, I'm wondering down the track perhaps Panasonic will released a new version of the EVF.

Also the design of each camera is so appealing that it makes it hard to choose.

I'd go for the 20mm lens and fit it with whatever camera body you like that makes sense financially. It's a great lens and the only m43 lens that I wouldn't give up. You have listed all the pros and cons for each body and they are both very good. I picked the E-P2 but would be just as happy with the GF-1. One has faster AF and the other has in-body IS .... Now if they only put faster AF in the next EP-3 then I could have it all

Panasonic will probably bring out a better add-on EVF but it might only fit the next model (GF-2) and not the GF-1. You never know until these products are announced.

You could wait and see what Panasonic and Olympus announce for Photokina in September.

I settled on the GF1, because it suited my style and experience of shooting: I found it's controls more SLR-like.

So perhaps consider what you will be shooting, and your technique.

If these considerations leave you neutral, and you don't need the marginally faster GF1 autofocus, then grab an EP2. You will be able to use the same lenses, you will have a higher res EVF and the IBIS.

If you get a kit, go for the 17mm one, sell the lens and use the cash to help pay for a 20mm.

I agree with the pros and cons that you have listed. The Panny 20mm is a must-have for micro 4/3 in my opinion. I only have a E-PL1 so I can't comment on the E-P2 specifically.

To answer your question, there is auto white balance in manual mode, but it does miss under some lighting conditions (e.g. tungsten). Operation with the dial wheel is a tad faster than the buttons on the E-PL1. As for AF speed, I haven't found the difference between the GF-1 and the E-PL1 to be that noticeable. At least for when it counts, e.g. on a fast moving object, neither camera would focus fast enough.

Personally I found that I wanted the IS and high-res EVF for MF, so I have sold my GF-1 for a E-PL1. If you see yourself going that way, it may make more sense to buy a body and the Panny lens separately even if it is a little more expensive up front.

Alternatively, wait a month for Photokina..!

P.S. While the screen on the E-PL1 is noticeably lower in resolution to the GF-1, I haven't missed it that much (even without the EVF).

There is rumor that Panasonic will bring out the GF2 late this year or early next year. It will have a built-in EVF on one side, like a Leica rangefinder. The price of the GF1 is dropping and will drop even further when the GF2 appears.

There is rumor that Panasonic will bring out the GF2 late this year or early next year. It will have a built-in EVF on one side, like a Leica rangefinder. The price of the GF1 is dropping and will drop even further when the GF2 appears.

Good luck with your decisions, mav! If you can force yourself to wait a bit, you might be able to get an even better price, as it has already been mentioned the big Photokina is coming up in September - but I know, only too well, it's difficult to hold back sometimes.

Yeah, I've only used the GF1 very briefly, but it plainly looked more simple.
I've used the E-P1/2 on a number of occasions now and the click wheel was a little flakey to me.

Hahaha, it really is very retro, one of the reasons I was drawn to it tbh.

But now that I've looked into m4/3 system it really seems to have a bright future of quality bodies and nice little optics ahead of it.

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I have been using my GF1 heavily since purchasing it in December. I have the 20mm and 14-45 lenses, and 2 legacy lenses on the way. Please feel free to PM me with any questions you might have about the camera or it's use.

The best feature on the GF1 that I like is the quick menu. It is really quick and easy to change the settings on the outside edge of the LCD screen as I'm shooting. Also the magnified view for manual focusing automatically magnifies as soon as I turn the focus ring ( panasonic G lenses) which is handy. I think I may have set it to do that in the custom menu.
Also the screen is very good on the GF1.

The best feature on the GF1 that I like is the quick menu. It is really quick and easy to change the settings on the outside edge of the LCD screen as I'm shooting. Also the magnified view for manual focusing automatically magnifies as soon as I turn the focus ring ( panasonic G lenses) which is handy. I think I may have set it to do that in the custom menu.
Also the screen is very good on the GF1.

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So with the MF and the zooming of the screen, how do you choose the area of zooming?

Also for the EPL-1, no control dials = instant fail for me. So I can't even consider that model.

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I own the E-PL1 and have not missed any control dials even once, although it would be more comfortable sometimes to have them. But I have missed accidental changes of the control dials instead, which is a good thing. IMHO it mainly depends on ones photographic habits, if one miss control dials or not. I know that you did not generalize and talked just about yourself, but it should be added, that missing control dials of the E-PL1 need not necessarily be a major problem.

If you can force yourself to wait a bit, you might be able to get an even better price, as it has already been mentioned the big Photokina is coming up in September - but I know, only too well, it's difficult to hold back sometimes.

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But this means waiting and nobody knows if the new cameras will be so much better than the old ones or if the current cameras will be much cheaper than they are now. In the meantime one waits and waits and cannot take pictures.

If a camera is good enough today, it will be good enough after September. New cameras are more expensive than current ones and nobody knows how good they are and sometimes they are worse than previous models in some respects. Many times the differences between two consecutive cameras are not big enough to wait for or to change from the old to the new model.

I own the E-PL1 and have not missed any control dials even once, although it would be more comfortable sometimes to have them. But I have missed accidental changes of the control dials instead, which is a good thing. IMHO it mainly depends on ones photographic habits, if one miss control dials or not. I know that you did not generalize and talked just about yourself, but it should be added, that missing control dials of the E-PL1 need not necessarily be a major problem.

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Yeah true, I didn't mean to say it was a bad camera, just it would irritate the hell out of me because I've been using a dial for manual exposure for years.

I own the E-PL1 and have not missed any control dials even once, although it would be more comfortable sometimes to have them. But I have missed accidental changes of the control dials instead, which is a good thing. IMHO it mainly depends on ones photographic habits, if one miss control dials or not. I know that you did not generalize and talked just about yourself, but it should be added, that missing control dials of the E-PL1 need not necessarily be a major problem.

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I agree that accidental movement of controls can be an issue, and I suspect it's more likely on smaller bodies. But this was a key advantage of the GF1 when I was trying out the options - the various controls are very well spaced, and have just the right amount of drag that I have never had an accidental change.

Andy yet I have had several occasions where I have needed to change major settings, sometimes several, very quickly, and have been able to do so without missing a beat. This is where I really enjoy an M4/3 of the GF1 / EP2 type: large DSLR-like functionality in a neat package.

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